Hop Head Black IPA is dark brown / black in colour, delivering an aroma of roasted malt tones. With five different varieties of superior hops and six malts, Hop Head Black IPA brings out a malt forward taste with a lingering hop bitterness.

A: Pours a really nice deep brown, pretty much black, with one and a half fingers of khaki colored head. The foam settles fairly quickly, and there is a good amount of lacing left on the glass as it drinks.

S: Mmm. Nice roasted malt, tons of chocolate, light caramel, light licorice, and mild citrus. The nose is mainly stout-like, with just a touch of hops. I'm into it.

T: The taste pretty much follows the nose. It's bitter roast, chocolate and caramel to start. The hops come in toward the back end, and they come on strong. They hit hard with a good amount of pine, but some sweetness lingers. The hops linger for a bit, but fade nicely into the background as the palate clears.

M: Full bodied beer. It's roasty and creamy to start, gets bitter as the hops shine through, and finishes sweet. Nothing stick around for an excessive amount of time.

O: This is a pretty darn good beer. Black IPAs aren't my favorite style, but the huge roast helps it out in my opinion. It's way more coffee and chocolate forward than other beers of the style. I'd drink it again if presented with the opportunity. (1,170 characters)

A - Pours a dark mahogany colour with a ruby red hue, two fingers of mocha head with solid retention and some sporadic lacing.

S - Rather mild on the nose, but nice cocoa notes, hints of coffee and espresso, and an earthy cedar hop note.

T - Not your typical black ale, this one is dominated by the cocoa and roasted coffee malts, the hops are definitely more earthy than citrusy. The alcohol comes through with a touch of heat and bite. The chocolate notes linger on the palette reminiscent of an imperial stout.

M - Medium bodied, smooth and wet.

O - A tasty ale, though my preference for the style lies more on the citrus hop side. This one was definitely heavier on the malt side. Nonetheless, a tasty brew and worth picking up. (785 characters)

Pours a dark, clear brown with significant red highlights. Limited head and no lacing, with little carbonation in the mouthfeel.

Aroma focuses on roasted dark malts, with hints of coffee and chocolate. The flavour is also very malt-forward, albeit with a delightful bitterness that lingers for an impressive length of time. Alcohol burn in the finish highlights the 8.8% ABV.

Unfortunately none of the "west coast" citrus, pine or tropical fruit “cascadian hop” elements for which I'd hoped - and that I typically associate with this style classification. Glad to have tried it. I have a lot of respect for this brewery and will try any future releases, but not certain I'll buy another in 2012.

Just tried first 2013 and much more impressed - unbelievable roasted malts with decent bitterness - look forward to trying again! (834 characters)

Fresh bottle at the LCBO, brewed for the Ontario market. Pours black with a generous lasting head. Big roast aroma. above average mouthfeel, with a bold roasty flavour and also a citrus grapefuit hoppyness Big abv to match. Good drinkability. Decent for the style. (264 characters)

Deep brown with ruby highlights, 1.5 fingers of tan head, some lacing near the top of the glass. Smell is roasted with a noticeable pine presence, fairly hoppy, some fruits in there as well, orange, chocolate and coffee scents as well. Taste is nice, tons of roasted malt with chocolate and coffee flavours, big bitterness, pine and grapefruit flavours in the aftertaste, some anise/black liquorice comes through mid palate, mildly astringent hop flavours, fruity aftertaste. Lightly carbonated, medium-full body, oily and quite dry. A fine beer here, tons of roasted flavours and chocolate that would have struck me as more of a hoppy porter than a black IPA if I didn't know any better but this is damm tasty and possibly my favourite beer from Tree to date. (760 characters)

Pours a nice dark brown, with ruby highlights and a mountain of tan head, good retention. Aroma is very nice with the roast malt and hippos playing off each other. Coffee and chocolate mix with citrus and earth hops. Taste follows with currents and chocolate, mixed with Chris and earthen hops. Not sure I would call this an ipa, more like a porter on the hoppy side of the spectrum. The us breweries are calling this a cascadian dark ale. Mouthfeel is smooth, but bitter. Overall a good beer. (493 characters)

Appearance: Hop Head Black IPA pours a dark amethyst colour, almost black and almost opaque. There's a pretty just-off-white head, which hangs around and leaves moderate lacing.

Smell: Blackcurrant jumped out at me from a distance, both from the bottle and my glass. After that, the smell is piney, and I'm getting aniseed in there. The smell is very deep indeed and quite complex. If I think about it, I'm noticing digestive biscuits too.

Taste: Lovely hoppy profile which is offset ever so slightly by the fruit, and then matched all the way by that liquoricey aniseed. The flavour is all quite bold. Good stuff.

Mouthfeel: I think Hop Head Black India Pale Ale feels surprisingly full and bold. There's a low level of carbonation, which befits the beer's appearance.

Overall: I hope Tree Brewing Co. makes this one a year-rounder. The bold mouthfeel, combined with the rindy, resiny flavour, bullies the early fruity smells out of the game, so I certainly wouldn't call this beer "balanced", but it's an interesting beer and I certainly wouldn't refuse a glass. (1,105 characters)

Resiny hops are upfront in the flavour, with plenty of pine, grapefruit rind, tangerine, mango and papaya. Dark caramel and roasted nuts with a bit of biscuity malt come through mid palette, with a hint of black licorice in the finish. Solid bitterness; alcohol is really well-hidden, more-so than their (weaker) Double IPA.

Well-attenuated, moderate body has a hint of hop acidity with a crisp finish.